Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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Author(s): Evelien Demaerschalk, Koen Hermans, Katrien Steenssens and Tine Van Regenmortel
Organization: LUCAS KU Leuven, Belgium; HIVA Research Institute for Work and Society, KU Leuven, Belgium
Publication Date: 2019
Abstract
Rural homelessness is hardly studied and minimally understood. The available studies as well as practical experience of homelessness charities show that rural homelessness is a reality and that it concerns hidden homelessness, referring to people living temporarily with family/friends or in non-conventional housing. This study aims to explore rural homelessness in Flanders based on an analysis of client files of five more rural public ce...
Author(s): Peter Mackie1, Sarah Johnsen2 and Jenny Wood2
Organization: Cardiff University, Wales, UK; Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, UK
Publication Date: 2019
Abstract
Vast human and financial resources have been spent in efforts to understand and address street homelessness. Yet, the problem persists. This think piece summarises the findings of a major review exploring the interna- tional evidence base on what works to end street homelessness (Mackie et al., 2017). It also reflects on the question: ‘if we know what works, why don’t we do it?’ Informed by more than 500 literature sources and interviews...
Author(s): Joanne Bretherton and Nicholas Pleace
Organization: University of York
Publication Date: 2019
Abstract
There is mounting evidence that preventative services and Housing First, working with other homelessness services within an integrated home- lessness strategy, can greatly reduce the experience of lone adult homeless- ness. However, progress in reducing the socioeconomic inequalities and poor social integration associated with lone adult homelessness has been more mixed. Housing can be both secured and sustained, but absence of family an...
Author(s): Mats Anderberg and Mikael Dahlberg
Organization: Linnaeus University, Sweden
Publication Date: 2019
Abstract
The aim of this study is to describe the living conditions of homeless people in the cities of Gothenburg and Karlskrona in Sweden and to analyse their level of social inclusion and social exclusion. The empirical basis of the study was interview responses from 1 148 individuals in connection with initial contact with municipal housing programmes. The study clarifies that people in these programmes are a heterogeneous group in terms of g...
Author(s): Marietta Haffner and Marja Elsinga
Publication Date: 2019
Abstract
The capability approach as a normative approach to wellbeing focuses on the real freedoms of people to choose the life they want to live (Sen, 1999). This approach is regarded as an alternative to the needs-based approach of paternalistic welfare states in Europe and seems to match well with the ambitions of the European Commission ‘to show a more social face’ and the Dutch government to make the participation society work.
The RE-InVEST...
Author(s): Bruce Wallace, Bernie Pauly, Kathleen Perkin, Geoff Cross
Publication Date: 2019
This project examined the effectiveness of a transitional program in breaking the cycle of homelessness. Within a community-based research approach, the authors conducted a case study to describe the program and participants within a context in which housing is largely unavailable and unaffordable. Although most participants successfully transitioned to housing few transitioned from homelessness to economic self-sufficiency in market housing and...
Author(s): European Observatory on Homelessness
Publication Date: 2019
Articles
Marietta Haffner and Marja Elsinga: Housing Deprivation Unravelled: Application of the Capability Approach
Mats Anderberg and Mikael Dahlberg: Homelessness and Social Exclusion in Two Swedish Cities
Joanne Bretherton and Nicholas Pleace: Is Work an Answer to Homelessness? Evaluating an Employment Programme for Homeless Adults
Think Pieces
Peter Mackie, Sarah Johnsen and Jenny Wood: Ending Street Homelessness: What Works and Why We Don...
Author(s): Patrick J. Fowler, Peter S. Hovmand, Katherine E. Marcal, Sanmay Das
Publication Date: 2019
Homelessness represents an enduring public health threat facing communities across the developed world. Children, families, and marginalized adults face life course implications of housing insecurity, while communities struggle to address the extensive array of needs within heterogeneous homeless populations. Trends in homelessness remain stubbornly high despite policy initiatives to end homelessness. A complex systems perspective provides insigh...
Author(s): Kristy Buccieri, Abram Oudshoorn, Tyler Frederick, Rebecca Schiff, Alex Abramovich, Stephen Gaetz, Cheryl Forchuk
Publication Date: 2018
Purpose: People experiencing homelessness are high-users of hospital care in Canada. To better understand the scope of the issue, and how these patients are discharged from hospital, a national survey of key stakeholders was conducted in 2017. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach: The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness distributed an online survey to their network of members through e-mail and social media. A sample...
Author(s): Natalie Ramsay, Michael G. DeGroote, Rahat Hossain, Mo Moore, Michael Milo, Allison Brown
Publication Date: 2019
Persons struggling with housing remain significantly disadvantaged when considering access to health care. Effective advocacy for their needs will require understanding the factors which impact their health care, and which of those most concern patients themselves. A qualitative descriptive study through the lens of a transformative framework was used to identify barriers and facilitators to accessing health care as perceived by people experienci...
Author(s): Jessica A. Heerde, Sheryl A. Hemphill
Publication Date: 2019
Risk factor reduction approaches may decrease exposure to violence among young people experiencing homelessness. This study presents a meta-analysis exploring associations between characteristics of young people experiencing homelessness (individual-level factors) and exposure to physically violent behavior, both as perpetrators and as victims. Prevention and intervention approaches seeking to address exposure to violence, both as perpetrators an...
Author(s): Carrie Anne Marshall, Lisa Davidson, Andrea Li, Rebecca Gewurtz, Laurence Roy, Skye Barbic, Bonnie Kirsh, Rosemary Lysaght
Publication Date: 2019
Boredom has been reported as a frequent problem experienced by homeless persons, with implications for mental and social well-being. This study aimed to explore the nature and impact of boredom in the lives of homeless and formerly homeless persons.
Author(s): Gwendolyn Dordick, Brendan O’Flaherty, Jakob Brounstein, Srishti Sinha
Publication Date: 2018
What does wise public policy toward panhandling look like? When a willing, reasonably well informed donor gives money to a panhandler, both are better off, and inequality goes down. Policy should encourage transactions like this. When a pedestrian is upset by a panhandler’s presence, does not give, and maybe even alters course, no one is better off and at least one person is worse off. Policy should discourage this kind of interaction. We examine...
Author(s): Jennifer Wakegijig, Geraldine Osborne, Sara Statham & Michelle Doucette Issaluk
Publication Date: 2013
In this paper, we describe a continuous course of action, based on community engagement and collective action, that has led to sustained political interest in and public mobilization around the issue of food insecurity in Nunavut.
Author(s): Valerie Tarasuk, Andrew Mitchell, Lindsay McLaren, Lynn McIntyre
Publication Date: 2013
Drawing on data from a large cross-sectional population health survey, we examine the relationship between adults' chronic disease status and the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity in Canada. We build on prior analyses of food insecurity/health relationships by designing our analyses to predict household food insecurity from health (rather than vice versa), considering multiple physician-diagnosed conditions (rather than a singl...
Author(s): Brittany Bingham, Akm Moniruzzaman, Michelle Patterson, Jino Distasio, Jitender Sareen, John O’Neil, Julian M Somers
Publication Date: 2019
Indigenous people in Canada are not only over-represented among the homeless population but their pathways to homelessness may differ from those of non-Indigenous people. This study investigated the history and current status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people experiencing homelessness and mental illness. We hypothesised that compared with non-Indigenous people, those who are Indigenous would demonstrate histories of displacement earlier in...
Author(s): Katie Sample, Kristin M. Ferguson
Publication Date: 2019
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore homeless young adults’ perceptions of the systemic, situational, and intrapersonal barriers they encounter across multiple systems in trying to exit homelessness and the ways these barriers are interrelated. Thirty-one homeless young adults (ages 18–26) in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona were recruited for in-depth interviews from two resource centers serving homeless youth. Template analysis was us...
Author(s): Jonathan Samosh, Jennifer Rae, Parastoo Jamshidi, Dhrasti Shah, Jean-Francois Martinbault, Tim Aubry
Publication Date: 2018
This article presents the findings of a fidelity assessment conductedwith a Housing First programme in Canada that supported clients with problematic substance use. A mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) evaluation design was used. A fidelity assessment survey, fidelity rating conciliation session, and interviews were conducted with programme staff and management to identify facilitators and barriers to the programme’s fidelity to the Hou...
Author(s): Gillian Parekh, Isbel Kiloran, and Cameron Crawford
Publication Date: 2011
Abstract
This study explores the educational opportunities available to secondary high school students in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), using both public TDSB and Ontario Ministry of Education data. Family income, parental education, and student participation in special education (excluding Gifted) are key units of analysis, as are the types of programs that the TDSB provides. The research found that low income students, students whos...